Pramod Varshney, Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science in Syracuse University's
L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer
Science, has been named director of the Center for Advanced Systems and
Engineering (CASE) at Syracuse University, a Center for Advanced Technology
supported by the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology, and
Innovation (NYSTAR). His appointment was effective on Jan. 1.
Varshney, who has served as CASE's research director since January 2001, succeeds
Gina Lee-Glauser, who had been CASE director since 2006. Lee-Glauser has returned
to her role as the University's associate vice president for research and will continue to
lead the University's technology transfer efforts.
Ed Reinfurt, executive director of NYSTAR, thanked Lee-Glauser for her contribution
to advancing NYSTAR's mission through CASE: "I welcome our new director,
Pramod Varshney, and look forward to his leadership in expanding partnerships in
central New York."
Under Lee-Glauser's leadership, CASE's network of industry partners and economic
impact for New York state increased dramatically. For the 2007-08 fiscal year, CASE
was one of the top Centers for Advanced Technology statewide in economic impact,
with a total impact of more than $70 million, including revenues generated and jobs
created and retained in the state. A study of state economic development
organizations conducted by SU's Maxwell School in fall 2008 also found that CASE
was the second-most-influential organization in Central New York among the 70
groups tracked in the study.
"Gina brought a new level of dynamic outreach to the CASE Center, and the result
has been a refreshing renewal of projects, partners and outlook," says Ben Ware, SU
vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School. "I am very grateful to
her for her outstanding leadership of the CASE Center.
"Pramod Varshney has been the CASE research director and intellectual leader for
years, and I am pleased that he is willing to accept the director's position," Ware says.
"He has an international reputation that will bring immediate recognition to CASE
Center research and technology transfer activities."
Varshney brings both depth and breadth of experience to CASE. He received a
bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science (with highest
honors), and master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1972, 1974 and 1976, respectively.
He has been with SU since 1976 in the electrical engineering and computer science
department, and served as associate chair of the department from 1993-96.
Varshney's research interests include distributed sensor networks and data fusion,
communications, signal and image processing and remote sensing. He has published
three books and authored or co-authored more than 140 journal papers and more
than 350 conference papers. More than 40 students have completed their doctoral
dissertations under his supervision. In 2000, he received the Third Millennium Medal
from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and SU's
Chancellor's Citation for exceptional academic achievement.
He serves as a distinguished lecturer for the AES society of the IEEE. He was elected
to be a fellow of the IEEE in 1997, an honor awarded only to the top 2 percent of the
entire IEEE membership. He was a founding member of the board of the
International Society of Information Fusion and served as its president in 2001.
Varshney is most widely known for his seminal work on the development of
distributed detection theory and wrote the first and only book published on the topic.
His work demonstrated the promise of distributed detection and data fusion,
providing the impetus for the proliferation of sensor networks and pervasive sensing,
which have become key technologies for defense, health care, transportation and
many other sectors.
Varshney is active in many applied research activities in Central New York and
beyond. He is engaged in intelligent control and information management research
with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems
(Syracuse CoE). He also serves as adjunct professor in the Department of Radiology
at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. His work is currently supported
by the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army, along with other key public agencies and
private organizations.
